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SUMMARY:Collective mechanics of epithelial cell colonies on elastic substr
 ates - Banerjee\, S (Syracuse University)
DTSTART:20130624T140000Z
DTEND:20130624T143000Z
UID:TALK45861@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Mustapha Amrani
DESCRIPTION:Crosstalk between cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesions plays an
  essential role in the mechanical function of tissues. The traction stress
 es exerted by cohesive keratinocyte colonies with strong cell-cell adhesio
 ns are mostly concentrated at the colony periphery. In contrast\, for weak
  cadherin-based intercellular adhesions\, individual cells in a colony int
 eract with their matrix independently\, with disorganized distribution of 
 traction stresses extending throughout the colony. In this talk I will pre
 sent a minimal physical model of the colony as adherent contractile elasti
 c media coupled to an elastic substrate. The model captures the spatial di
 stribution of traction forces seen in experiments. For cell colonies with 
 strong cell-cell adhesions\, the total traction force of the colony measur
 ed in experiments is found to scale with the colonys geometrical size. Thi
 s scaling suggests the emergence of an effective surface tension of magnit
 ude comparable to that measured fo r non-adherent\, three-dimensional cell
  aggregates. The physical model supports the scaling and indicates that th
 e surface tension may be controlled by acto-myosin contractility. \n\nCo-a
 uthors: Aaron F. Mertz (Yale University)\, M. Cristina Marchetti (Syracuse
  University)\, Eric R. Dufresne (Yale University)\, Valerie Horsley (Yale 
 University) \n
LOCATION:Seminar Room 1\, Newton Institute
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